Undone
by curlybean
Summary: There are some moments in life that irrevocably change you, for better or worse. This is Archie's moment. How will it define him? How will he survive? Will his friends be able to keep him from spiralling out of control?
1. Chapter 1

Undone

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sadly, the Riverdale universe doesn't belong to me. I am just a novice writer, playing in this delightful sandbox.

* * *

Archie felt a sudden wave of nausea wash over him and his vision faded to black for several seconds. Silence surrounded him, making him feel like he was in a vacuum. When his vision returned, all he saw was a sea of red. When his hearing returned, the sudden sounds of chaos and panic were deafening. Someone was screaming for help and he wondered for a single second why no one was answering. Then, he realized that the screams for help were coming from his own mouth.

Looking down at the floor, he noticed rivulets of red spilling across the white tile. His mind couldn't comprehend what he was seeing even when he followed the streams of red to their source. All he could think about was how they looked like small scarlet rivers leading to an ocean of blood. Abruptly, his vision blackened and all sound was silenced again. His heart was beating frantically in his chest. His breaths were coming so rapidly that he felt light-headed. Another wave of nausea rushed through him, causing him to break out in a cold sweat. Taking several deep breaths, he forced himself to focus, and once his senses equalized, he looked around the diner, trying to find Pop Tate. _Where was he?_ _Why wasn't anyone doing anything?_

Archie finally saw Pop Tate coming towards him with one hand holding a phone to his ear and the other hand clutching several dish towels. Once he arrived at Archie's side, he thrust the dish towels down towards Archie, who stared at them blankly before finally grabbing them. Archie could hear Pop Tate yelling into the phone that they needed an ambulance, but it wasn't until he heard him say that someone had been shot that everything finally clicked.

It was his dad. _His dad had been shot._ His dad was lying on the floor with his head in his son's lap. Those rivulets of red on the white tile were actually streams of his dad's blood, flowing onto the floor and forming that ever growing ocean. Archie brought the dish towels down to his father's abdomen and pressed as hard as he could. He nearly let up at the gasp that escaped his father's lips, but he didn't. Pressing down even harder, he finally looked into his father's eyes. The fear he saw was almost too much for him, but he somehow managed to hold it together.

His dad was clutching Archie's arms with both hands and Archie could see his lips moving silently. Focusing as hard as he could, Archie was pretty sure he saw his own name pass his father's lips several times.

"I'm right here, Dad," he whispered. "You're gonna be okay. The ambulance will be here soon, okay? Just stay with me."

Fred's grip tightened on Archie's arms as his breathing grew more rapid and shallow. His eyes locked onto his son's for several long seconds before finally closing.

"No! Dad, open your eyes. Look at me!" Archie pressed his hands down harder, causing Fred's eyes to shoot open. "That's it. Keep looking at me, Dad. Don't close your eyes. I'm right here, okay? I'm right here."

"I love you, Archie," Fred whispered in a barely audible voice. "Don't forget…"

"No! You don't get to do that, Dad," Archie cried frantically. "You're not doing that!"

"I need you to know…."

"Dad, please!"

Before either of them could say anything else, the door to the diner opened and Sheriff Keller walked in, followed closely by the ambulance crew. The EMTs quickly made their way over to Fred and Archie was unceremoniously moved aside.

Pop Tate moved to stand beside Archie, putting one hand on the boy's shoulder while he answered Sheriff Keller's questions. Archie's eyes never left his father, who by this time had become unresponsive. He listened as the EMTs talked to each other, but couldn't comprehend what they were saying. He watched as one held pressure on his father's wound while the other one hooked him up to the monitor and started an IV. All the while, Fred remained unresponsive.

Archie's vision and hearing started to fluctuate again and his body started to sway dangerously, prompting Pop to lead him over to the nearest booth. Archie tried to fight it, not wanting to leave his dad's side, but Pop insisted. Once he was sitting down, he focused again on his dad and the two men that were working to save him.

"….. _BP's too low…..lost a lot of blood…..needs more fluid."_

"… _..need to go now."_

"… _..we're losing him… he's asystole."_

Archie watched in horror as one of the EMTs started CPR. With each chest compression, Archie could see more blood seeping from the gunshot wound. With both EMTs busy with other tasks, Archie stood up and ran to his dad's side, placing his hands over the abdominal wound and holding pressure again.

"Archie!" Sheriff Keller said as he surged forward to get the young man out of the way.

"It's okay, Sheriff," one of the EMTs said. "Someone needs to hold pressure for now."

After several minutes of CPR, Archie was relieved to hear that Fred had regained a pulse. After being once more moved aside, he watched as his dad was loaded onto the stretcher and taken out to the ambulance. When he tried to climb in after his dad, he was told that he couldn't go with the ambulance. Gearing up to argue with the ambulance crew, Archie was quickly pulled aside by Sheriff Keller.

"I'll take you to the hospital, son," he said. "They need room to work and we'll probably beat the ambulance there anyway."

Archie had no choice but to climb into the sheriff's police car, but he was relieved when Sheriff Keller immediately took off after the ambulance, lights flashing and sirens blasting the whole way.

* * *

The ride to the hospital was the longest ride of Archie's life. They had followed the ambulance the whole way and Archie watched through the small window in the back door as the crew moved around frantically. He could only imagine what was going on and with each second that passed, his imagination became more and more out of control. He could feel panic rising up in him again, so he quickly rolled the window down, taking in big gulps of cold air to quell it.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Keller insisted on parking the car before letting Archie out. Archie had been tempted to jump out of the car when it rolled past the ambulance bay doors, but Sheriff Keller reached out an arm, holding him in place. The second the car came to a stop, Archie threw the door open and took off towards the emergency room entrance. Sheriff Keller followed as quickly as he could.

Stepping inside the ER waiting room, he desperately looked around, trying to find someone that worked there. Straight ahead, there was an older woman standing behind a counter. Barely noticing the line of people that were waiting to talk to her, Archie strode right up to the counter.

"Young man, you're going to have to wait your turn," the lady said immediately as she pointed to the line behind him.

"They just brought my dad in," Archie nearly yelled. "I need to be with him. Please!"

The lady behind the counter recoiled slightly at the sight of all of the blood on his clothes and hands. Suddenly realizing the enormity of the situation, she asked Archie for his father's name.

"Fred Andrews," he immediately answered. "Please, I need to know what's going on!"

At that moment, Sheriff Keller arrived at Archie's side. After a few words with the receptionist he turned to the anxious young man beside him. "Archie, let's have a seat. They'll come and get us as soon as they can, okay?"

"I don't want to have a seat," Archie yelled. "I want to see my dad!"

"I promise you that they'll come and get you as soon as possible. Right now, we need to think about calling your mother. And then I need to know what happened."

The thought of calling his mother, or anyone else for that matter, hadn't even crossed Archie's mind. Of course, he needed to call his mom, but he didn't think he could do it. Instead, he gave Sheriff Keller her number and listened as the sheriff made the call. The call only took a few minutes and after hearing Mary Andrews' reassurance that she was on her way to Riverdale, Sheriff Keller put his phone away and turned back to Archie.

"Your mother is on her way, Archie. Now, why don't you tell me exactly what happened…"

* * *

Author's note: That season finale was a doozy, wasn't it? I certainly wasn't expecting that to happen and I definitely hate the thought of having to wait months and months to find out what happened to Fred. Fred and Archie's relationship is by far the best relationship in Riverdale, so I can't help but want to play around with it a little bit. I hope you all don't mind a teensy bit of angst, because that's what I like to write best. Thanks for taking the time to read my story. I would love to hear your thoughts/suggestions/ideas.


	2. Broken

Undone

Chapter 2

Archie went through the sequence of events like a robot, like someone who had witnessed it through a window, far removed from the actual violence and chaos. He spoke in an even tone, his voice only breaking when he got to the point in the story where Fred Andrews had pushed his son out of the line of fire. Once he arrived at that part of the narrative, he suddenly found himself unable to continue. Suddenly, he was overcome by a sense of guilt so strong and dominant that he found himself gasping for breath. His chest heaved wildly as he tried desperately to fill his lungs with air. He was vaguely aware of Sheriff Keller's hands grasping his shoulders. He was even less aware of the fact that every eye in the waiting room was trained on him.

Eventually, the sheriff's voice broke through to him and he was able to focus on the low, dulcet tones. "Archie, it's okay. You're okay. Just slow your breathing down. That's it. Nice and slow."

Archie felt his chest start to heave a little less violently and his vision started to refocus. He looked anxiously up into Sheriff Keller's face, searching for the reassurance he so desperately needed….that everything would be okay.

"It's my fault," he said softly. "It's all my fault, Sheriff. He's going to die and it's all because of me."

"Come on now, son. It's not your fault."

Hearing the sheriff call him "son" nearly caused him to become undone again, but he was somehow able to hold on to his composure.

"You don't understand," he cried. "I'm the reason we were even at the diner to begin with. If I hadn't been so stupid, we would have been at home. Because of me, my dad was there when that man came in. He put himself in front of me to protect me, Sheriff. I should have been the one that was shot."

"Archie, your dad did what any father would have done. And I know Fred Andrews pretty well. I know he wouldn't want you to sit here blaming yourself, son."

Archie knew deep, deep down that the sheriff was telling the truth. He just couldn't bring himself to agree. _It_ _ **was**_ _his fault. For being so selfish and so, so stupid_.

* * *

For the first time since he arrived at Pop's diner, Sheriff Keller really looked at the young man sitting next to him. He looked so young and so vulnerable, even as he sat there covered in the blood of his father. He had known Fred Andrews for many years and he knew how close Fred and his son really were. He also knew Archie through his own son, Kevin. He was a good kid, who had been through some tough things recently, but if there was one thing he knew about the Andrews men, it was that they were strong.

That's not to say that they couldn't be broken, though, and at the moment, Archie looked completely broken. Sheriff Keller noticed the way the boy's whole body was trembling and how fast his chest was rising and falling with each frantic breath. He noticed how Archie kept rubbing his hands together as if he were trying desperately to rid his hands of the traces of this tragedy. The boy's eyes darted wildly around the room, shooting from the waiting room to the door that led back into the trauma bay and then back down to his own blood-stained hands.

"Archie, I'll be right back, okay? Stay right here for just a minute." Keller stood up and walked back up to the reception desk to ask for something to help clean Archie up a bit. He hadn't taken more than a few steps when he heard the tumult behind him. Turning quickly around, he saw Archie jumping to his feet, knocking the chair he had been sitting in to the side, and staggering towards the recently opened trauma bay door. Keller was just barely able to grab the sleeve of Archie's shirt before the boy twisted away, ripping the fabric from his hands.

"Archie! Wait!" he yelled, but Archie kept on through the doors. Keller heard someone at the desk yelling for someone else to call security. "It's okay," he called out to the receptionist. "I've got this."

Running through the door, he quickly spotted Archie speeding down the hall. He could hear what sounded like a great commotion in the direction the boy was headed and he dreaded what was going on there. Rounding a corner, he nearly ran into Archie, who had come to a complete standstill just outside the open door to the trauma bay.

Stepping up next to the distraught boy, Sheriff Keller put his arm around Archie and pulled him in closer to his side. He was surprised to feel the boy lean into him a little.

"Archie, we shouldn't he here," he said quietly. "We need to let them do their jobs, okay?"

"I need to be here," Archie answered brokenly. "He needs me…."

"Okay," Keller finally conceded. "But, let's move out of the way, okay? Just over to the side, so we're not in the way."

* * *

Archie allowed himself to be pulled off to the side, but his eyes never left the sight of the doctors and nurses that were trying to save his dad. He could barely make out the shape of his father's body through the mass of people, which brought him both anxiety and relief. There was a part of him that needed to lay eyes on his dad again, but another part of him was too scared to see the man so injured. _I'm such a coward_ , he thought to himself. _It's my fault that he's lying there in the first place, but I can't even bring myself to look at him._

Every so often, one of the staff would move just enough for him to get a quick glimpse of the man on the gurney, but all he could really see was a mass of tubes and lines and dressings. He could see several bags of blood hanging from the IV poles, as well as bags of other IV fluids. There was a tube that was coming out of his father's mouth and he could see someone standing at the head of the bed, methodically squeezing some contraption that was filling the man's lungs with oxygen. Other than that, all he saw was blood. Blood on the floor, blood on the dressings, blood on the gurney, even blood on the uniforms of the men and women working on him. _So much blood…..An ocean of blood….._

Eventually, someone walked over to where they were standing, stopping right in front of Archie. Archie moved immediately to the side, not wanting to lose sight of what was going on with his dad.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Brent. Are you the family of Mr. Andrews?" the man asked.

When Archie didn't answer, Sheriff Keller immediately spoke up. "This is Archie Andrews, Fred's son. And I'm Sheriff Keller, a family friend. How is he doing?"

With these words, Archie's attention turned back to the man in front of him, who seemed to be looking at him cautiously. "I'm going to be honest here, okay? Mr. Andrews is in critical condition. He's lost a lot of blood, so we're trying to stabilize him enough to get him into surgery. Once we're in surgery, we can hopefully stop the bleeding and fix whatever needs fixing. Can either of you tell me anything about his general health? Does he take any medications? Is he allergic to anything?"

"I don't know!" Archie answered, once again on the verge of panicking. "I should know that, right? Why don't I know that?!"

"It's okay, Archie," Dr. Brent answered quickly, hoping to ease the young man's anxiety. "We don't have any record of allergies for your dad, so we're just going to go with that. It's okay."

Of course, Archie didn't feel like it was okay, though. He really hated the fact that he didn't know the answers to those questions. _What kind of son was he?!_

Before anything else could be said, Archie noticed a sudden increase in activity happening. His heart lurched painfully in his chest, until he realized that the commotion was due to the fact that they were wheeling the gurney towards the surgery suites.

"Wait!" he yelled as he pitched forward. "Wait, I need to see him!"

The team of doctors and nurses didn't look eager to stop, but Dr. Brent gave them the okay. "Be quick, Archie," he said. "We really need to get him into the OR."

Archie stepped up to the gurney and somehow found his dad's hands buried under several blankets. Grabbing hold of it, he held on desperately as he finally looked at the man's face. "Please, Dad," he cried. "Please, you have to keep fighting, okay? Don't give up…"

Just as they started to wheel the gurney forward again, Archie gave his father's hand one last squeeze. "Dad, I love you! Don't forget….."

* * *

Author's note: Well, I tried to warn you that I love to write angst. I hope this wasn't too much for you all, lol. Thanks so much for reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts.


	3. Pieces

Undone

Chapter 3

* * *

Archie had no idea how much time had passed since he had left Veronica's that morning. It seemed so long ago that he had had the best night of his young life, a night that had left him with a huge smile on his face and a lightness in his heart. Nothing could have taken that smile off of his face. Not even the text he had received from his dad, asking him to meet up at Pop's diner.

Now, that smile was a long-forgotten memory of a time when almost everything was right again in his life. Yes, his mother and father were still getting a divorce, but they were at least talking like civilized people that had once loved each other very much. Yes, Jughead was still living with a foster family and having to go to school at Southside High, but the family seemed really nice and he actually fit in well with the kids from Southside. Archie figured that his best friend would actually be okay.

Jason Blossom's murder was solved, Betty's family was back together, Veronica's dad was coming home, and things were looking up with his dad's business. All in all, it was beginning to seem like things really were going to be okay.

But now everything was wrong again and Archie felt like nothing would ever be okay. _How could it?_ His father was fighting for his life and Archie was completely unable to help in any way. He had never felt so helpless and useless in his life.

It seemed like an eternity had passed since he first saw his father sitting in that booth at Pop's that morning. Truth be told, he _had_ been a little afraid of his father's reaction to him staying out all night. More like afraid of disappointing his father, at least. Fred Andrews could be pretty strict at times, especially when it came to his son's safety. Knowing this, Archie hadn't really planned on staying over at Veronica's, but he had fallen asleep lying next to her warm body. His first thought upon waking up to the sound of his phone's text alert was that his father was going to kill him. In the figurative sense of the word, of course. Archie could definitely see a long lecture and another stint of being grounded headed his way. The worst part, though, would be seeing the disappointment in his dad's eyes.

Instead, Fred had greeted Archie with an indulgent smile that served to ease his worry a bit. Archie had gone on into the bathroom to wash up, thinking about how lucky he was at the moment. But, then that luck ran out in a spectacular way.

Hearing the sounds of some sort of a skirmish in the diner, Archie walked out of the bathroom. He immediately saw someone wearing a mask standing up on the bar counter and it took him the briefest of time to realize that the man was holding a gun and was pointing it directly at a very scared looking Pop Tate.

Archie glanced over at his father, finding him looking back at him wild-eyed, motioning for him to stay put. Archie would now give anything if he had only listened to his dad. Instead, Archie panicked and impulsively shot forward when the gunman released Pop Tate and brought the gun around, aiming it directly at Fred. The gunman quickly shifted the gun over to where Archie was and seconds later pulled the trigger. All Archie could remember of what happened next was that when he jumped in front of his dad, his dad immediately pushed him out of the way, throwing himself directly into the path of the bullet. _His dad had saved him_.

Archie knew that he could never forgive himself. It was his fault that they were even having the morning meeting at Pop's. It was his fault that he didn't just stay put like his dad told him to. _Why did he always have to think that he could fix everything?! Why was he always so impatient and impulsive?!_ If he had stayed where he was, maybe the gunman would have just taken his dad's wallet and left the diner. Maybe then, nobody would have been hurt. They could have just gone home together… safely.

Before he could think any more on that, Archie felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He dug it out and held it for several long seconds before looking down at it. When he finally looked, he was surprised to see several text messages from Veronica, Betty, and Jughead. He had also missed several calls from his mother and Veronica.

Jughead's texts were the first he read because they were the oldest.

 _Archie, where r u?_

And then….

 _Archie, your dad's looking for u. He sounds mad. Where r u?_

Then came Betty's.

 _Arch? What's going on? Just got a call from your dad. He's looking for you._

 _Archie? R u there?_

Archie hadn't noticed those texts when he got his dad's text, but they were obviously from earlier in the night. He felt a small pang of guilt shoot through him at the thought of worrying his two best friends.

Next, he read Veronica's texts.

 _I miss u already, Archiekins_.

And then…

 _Ur already ignoring me? You scoundrel. ;)_

And finally…

 _Archie? Call me…_

Archie stared at the phone. He wanted desperately to talk to his friends, but he didn't think he had the strength to tell them what had happened. In fact, he didn't think he could even say the words out loud… even to himself. While he was trying to get up the courage to do something, the phone in his hand began ringing loudly. Looking down at it, he saw that it was his mom calling again, and even though he didn't want to, he knew he had to answer it.

"Mom," he said as he accepted the call.

"Archie? Are you okay? Why haven't you been answering my calls?" Mary Andrews' voice was frantic.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Archie answered. "I didn't hear it ring."

"How's dad?"

"He's in surgery, Mom. I haven't heard anything from anyone about how he's doing?"

"Who's there with you, Archie?"

"No one. Sheriff Keller is here somewhere, but I don't know where."

"Where are your friends, Archie? Where's Juggie?"

"I-I haven't told them what happened yet," Archie admitted. "They don't know yet."

"Sweetie, you have to tell them. They'll want to be there for you. And you don't need to be there by yourself."

"When will you be here, Mom?" Archie asked.

"That's why I'm calling, Arch. My car broke down just outside of Chicago. I'm waiting on the tow truck and a rental car, so it's going to be a while before I can get there. I'm going to call Hermione Lodge, okay? And maybe Alice?"

"Okay," Archie answered. "But, please hurry, Mom. Okay?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can, sweetie. I promise."

After hanging up the phone, Archie sent out a group text to Veronica, Betty, and Jughead.

 _Meet me at the hospital. My dad's been shot._

* * *

Betty was the first to arrive, bursting through the surgical waiting room doors like the building was on fire.

"Archie! Oh my God! What happened?"

Archie looked at the girl who had been his best friend since kindergarten and immediately broke down. Betty quickly made her way over to him and pulled him into a hug. She could feel his body trembling and his chest heaving as he tried to take in enough air to fill his lungs. She could also tell that his legs weren't going to be supporting him for too much longer.

"Arch, let's sit down, okay? Right over here." Leading him over to a small set of chairs by the window, she guided him down as she looked him over. She could see the traces of tears on his cheeks and even a few smudges of blood on his forehead, probably from him carding his blood-stained hands through his hair repeatedly. _He always does that when he was anxious about something_ , she thought.

Taking in the sight of his blood-stained skin and clothing, she suddenly wondered if he himself was physically okay. "Are you okay, Archie? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"I-I'm okay," Archie stuttered.

"What happened? Is your dad okay?"

"I-I don't know," Archie answered. "He's in surgery. He was shot, Betty! There was so much blood everywhere."

"Who shot him?"

Just as he was about to answer, the door opened again and an obviously agitated Jughead walked in.

"What happened?" he asked immediately, looking from Archie to Betty. Once he really stopped to look at Archie, he was surprised to see the state of his best friend. Other than the fact that the boy was covered in blood, Jughead was surprised by what he saw. He had never seen Archie looking so….lost? He looked as if he had no idea what was going on around him, really. "Archie? Are you okay?"

Archie didn't answer. Instead, he just looked around him like he was trying to figure out what was going on. Betty was clasping both of his hands between hers, a task made harder by the bulky cast on Archie's right hand. She was whispering something softly into Archie's ear, trying to calm him down.

"Betty?" Jughead hoped that maybe his girlfriend could shed some light on what had happened.

"I don't know, Jug. All I know is that Mr. Andrews was shot and that he's in surgery."

"Who shot him?!" Jughead asked.

"I don't know," Betty answered. "Juggie, I think Archie may be in shock. I think he needs help."

"I'm okay, Betty," Archie said softly. "I'm okay."

"I don't think you are, Arch."

"I am," Archie said in a slightly louder voice. "I just need to know how my dad's doing."

"I'll see if I can find out, Archie," Jughead said determinedly.

Archie and Betty watched as Jughead left the room to try to find someone to give them an update. Betty slowly dropped Archie's hands and walked over to the small refrigerator in the corner of the room. After she pulled out a bottle of water, she grabbed some paper towels and ran them under the water from the small sink in the corner. Going back over to Archie, she picked up his hands again and gently started washing off the dried blood. Archie watched the process, drawn in by the way the once white paper towels were now streaked with red.

Once Betty had cleaned up his hands, arms, and face as best she could, she opened up the bottle of water and encouraged him to take a drink. Archie took several large gulps of the cold water, but then jumped up and ran over to the nearest trash can. Betty looked on helplessly as Archie threw up what little he had in his stomach. A few minutes later, he stopped retching and slid bonelessly down to the floor. He was still sitting there moments later when the door opened again and Veronica Lodge walked in.

* * *

Veronica woke up that morning to find Archie silently getting dressed. For a single second, she was shocked to remember what had happened the night before, but then a warmness overflowed within her. Her first thought when he turned around to look at her was that it should be impossible for someone to be so sexy and adorable at the same time. The smile on his face sent shivers down her spine and she couldn't do anything but smile back.

Later, when she tried to call him, she was surprised when he didn't pick up. She knew that he wasn't purposefully ignoring her, so she didn't put a lot of thought into it at first, figuring that maybe he was still talking things out with his dad. When he didn't answer her second call or her first text message, she started to worry that maybe Fred Andrews was really upset with his son and that Archie was actually in a lot of trouble. By the third text without an answer, she was starting to worry that something more was going on. Just as she was about to get dressed and make her way over to the Andrews house, her mom knocked on the door and walked in without waiting for an answer.

"Ronnie, there's been an accident," Hermione said nervously.

"Oh my God, is it Archie? Is he okay? I knew something was wrong!" Veronica felt a desperate panic overwhelm her at the thought that something had happened to Archie.

"It's not Archie," Hermione answered. "It's Fred. He's been shot."

"He's been _shot?_ How? Where? Is he okay?" Veronica jumped off her bed and started grabbing clothes out of her closet. She had to get to Archie right away.

"I don't know, Ronnie. I just got a call from Mary Andrews. She said that Fred's in surgery and that Archie is at the hospital all alone. She asked us to go be with him."

Just at that moment, Veronica's text alert sounded. Grabbing her phone, she quickly read the message that had come from Archie. Without any hesitation, she typed out a quick message, grabbed her shoes and purse, and moved past her mother through the door. "Let's go," she said.

Now, standing in the doorway of the waiting room, Veronica looked anxiously at Archie, who was still slumped over on the floor next to the trash can. Betty was sitting next to him, gently rubbing his back.

"Ronnie, you're here," Archie said weakly, his voice breaking on the last word.

"Of course, I'm here," Veronica answered as she made her way over to him. "I'll always be here for you, Archie."

* * *

Author's note: Still no word on how Fred is doing. I'm getting a little nervous, aren't you? ;)

Anyway, I thought I'd try to whip out another chapter before I have to go back to work so I hope you guys enjoyed this one. I really wanted to get Jughead, Betty, and Veronica into it, so here you go. Thank you so much for reading and for the follows/favorites/reviews. I would really love to hear your thoughts as the story goes along. Thanks, Classified Director 101 for reviewing both chapters. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on this one.


	4. It Comes And Goes In Waves

Undone

Chapter 4

* * *

The waiting room was completely quiet. Betty and Veronica sat on either side of Archie, each holding on to one of his hands, and exchanging worried glances over his head. Archie had his eyes closed and was leaning his head back against the wall, concentrating on breathing in and out. Anyone that looked at him could see that he was barely holding it together. Occasionally, either Betty or Veronica would whisper something quietly in his ear, to which he had very little response.

Everything changed, though, when the door opened and Jughead and Hermione walked in. Archie jumped to his feet and immediately ran over to Jughead.

"How is he? Did you find out anything?"

"I'm sorry, Arch," Jughead answered softly. "No one could give me an update, but one of the nurses said that they would as soon as they could."

Archie's face shifted through a gamut of emotions. Anger….fear….sadness…..anger again….and then finally resignation. He started pacing the small room, carding his hand through his already ruffled hair anxiously. "What's taking so long?! He's been in surgery for almost three hours!"

Hermione Lodge stepped forward, stopping him in his path. "Archie…. Sweetie….these things take time. The doctors will want to be very meticulous and that takes time."

"I can't stand not knowing," Archie whispered barely loud enough for anyone to hear, but they all did. And his words cut a path of pain through each of them. All four people in that room with him, knew how devastated Archie would be if Fred didn't make it. And they all felt helpless at not being able to do anything to help him.

"Archie, have you eaten anything since you've been here?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not hungry," he answered. "I-I can't eat."

"You need to eat something, sweetie. You need to keep your strength up. Your dad's going to need you to be strong."

When Archie didn't argue any further, Hermione stepped out to find something for him to eat. Betty and Veronica watched as Jughead started pacing around the small room with his friend, the two of them nearly colliding at times.

"Arch, Jug…..let's sit down, okay?" Betty finally said when their pacing started making her nervous.

Archie flopped back down on the chair he had been sitting in. He started softly banging the back of his head against the wall, but within several seconds Veronica stopped him.

Grabbing his face in both of her hands, she turned his head towards her. "Archie, look at me," she said. "Your dad's going to be okay. I know he is."

"But, what if he's not, Ronnie? What if it was all too much? He lost so much blood."

"They can give him more blood, Archie," Veronica answered, but Archie knew it wasn't as easy as that. Yes, they could give him more blood, but his body had still been put under a huge stress. Fred Andrews was the strongest man Archie had ever known, but he was still just a man. And Archie couldn't help but feel like he didn't deserve his dad to make it through this. He would never admit that out loud, but he knew that he had been an awful son in the last few months. Sneaking out of the house, lying, getting into fights, staying out all night….. _He was a horrible son! His dad deserved so much better._

"And Archie, this isn't your fault, okay?" Veronica said, as if reading Archie's thoughts.

"Isn't it, though?" he answered angrily. "My dad would have never been there this morning if I hadn't stayed out all night. Doesn't that make it my fault?"

"Where _were_ you all night, Archie? Your dad called several times looking for you." Betty searched Archie's face for an answer. She didn't miss the look that passed between Archie and Veronica, so her growing suspicions were confirmed almost immediately.

"That's not really important right now, is it?" Veronica asked her best friend. "Right now we need to focus on Mr. Andrews."

"Of course. It's not important."

Archie chanced a glance at Betty, only to find her looking at him strangely. Once she realized he was looking at her, she quickly looked away. "Betty…" he started.

"No, it's okay, Archie. Really."

An uncomfortable silence suddenly filled the room, but everyone was so involved in their own thoughts that they really didn't even notice it.

* * *

Almost an hour later, the door opened and a very frazzled looking Mary Andrews walked in. Archie jumped up and ran over to his mother, who desperately pulled him into a hug.

"Archie, I'm so sorry it took me so long to get here," she said. "Have you heard anything yet?"

"Not yet," he answered miserably. Before he knew what was happening or could do anything to stop it, Archie came undone. Holding on to his mother as tight as he could, he started sobbing into her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mom," he cried. "I'm sorry…"

Mary looked frantically at Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and Hermione, before turning her attention back to her son. Neither of them noticed when Hermione suggested that they all leave to give them some time alone. Seconds later, the waiting room was empty, except for Archie and Mary.

"Archie….honey, please calm down. Look at me, sweetie…"

Archie looked desolately up at his mom. "Why are you apologizing?" Mary asked. "You had nothing to do with this."

"It's my fault!" Archie explained for what seemed like the hundredth time. _Why couldn't anyone understand that this really was all his fault?!_ "I messed up, Mom. I did something stupid and Dad asked me to meet him at Pop's to talk about it. If I hadn't been so stupid, we wouldn't have been there and none of this would have happened."

"You're not stupid, Archie," Mary exclaimed loudly. "And you may have messed up, but it's still not your fault that someone tried to rob Pop's and your dad got hurt."

"I can't stop thinking that it's my fault, Mom," Archie said sadly. "Because it is. And not just because it's my fault we were there in the first place. I was in the bathroom when the man came in. I heard this commotion outside and when I opened the door, I noticed the man holding a gun to Pop's head. Dad looked at me and tried to tell me to stay out of it, but when the man let go of Pop and turned the gun on dad, I panicked. I jumped in front of Dad, but he pushed me away and the gun went off. It should have been me, Mom. I was the one that deserved to be shot. Not Dad!"

"No one deserved to be shot, Archie. Least of all you. You were trying to protect Dad and he was trying to protect you. That this happened wasn't your fault, any more than it was his, okay? It just happened."

Archie didn't look like he believed his mom's words. He knew that he would always feel like he was to blame, even if no one else felt that way.

It had been almost 5 hours since Fred had been taken into the operating room. Archie was once again starting to feel like he was beginning to come unglued and everyone else in the waiting room was looking worse for wear, too. They all tried to eat something, although no one managed more than just a few bites of anything. Archie had dozed off for all of fifteen minutes before jerking awake with a loud gasp. He was more than exhausted, but any time he closed his eyes, the memories of that morning came flooding back.

The indulgent look on his father's face when Archie first walked into the diner. The look of terror on Pop Tate's face when the gun was shoved in his face. The desperation in his father's eyes when Archie came out of the bathroom and into the path of danger. The sound of the gunshot, deafening in its intensity and echoing around the small diner. The blood flowing out of his dad, snaking across the tile of the diner floor like rivers flowing endlessly toward the ocean. The peaceful look on his dad's face when he told Archie that he loved him. The determination on the faces of the medical crew as they did all they could to save his dad. The overwhelming coppery smell of blood mixed with the smell of greasy hamburgers and French fries. The salty taste of the tears that were streaming down his face as he watched his father struggle to live.

So many memories haunting him every second of the day.

Just as Mary decided to see if she could find someone to give them an update, the door opened and a middle-aged man dressed in scrubs entered the room, looking at each of them. "I'm looking for the family of Fred Andrews," he said seriously.

All six of them quickly stood up, but only Archie and Mary stepped forward.

"How is he?" Archie asked immediately. "Is he okay?"

"Are you family?" the man asked.

Mary reached out and grabbed Archie's arm, pulling him back against her slightly. "I'm Mary Andrews and this is my son, Archie. Fred is my husband."

The man extended his right hand and shook Mary and Archie's hand. "I'm Dr. Casey. I'm the primary surgeon for Mr. Andrews. He's out of surgery and will be moving to the ICU in about an hour. There was pretty extensive damage done to his liver and he lost a lot of blood. We were able to repair his liver, but he will need close monitoring to ensure that he doesn't start bleeding again. We are also concerned about infection, of course, so he'll be receiving several different antibiotics over the next several days. We've transfused six units of blood products and will transfuse more, if needed. Because of the severity of the liver injury and the massive blood loss, we will keep him intubated and in a drug-induced coma for the time being."

"What does that mean?" Archie asked.

Dr. Casey turned to Archie and gave him a soft smile. "That means he'll have a tube down his throat and into his lungs and will be on a ventilator to help him breathe. We'll be sedating him with medication to help keep him calm and comfortable."

"But, he's okay, right?" Archie asked. "He's going to make it?"

"I'm not going to lie, son. Your dad's in pretty critical condition, but we're going to do everything we can for him. He'll be getting top-notch care in the intensive care unit. And I have a feeling he'll do his part and fight as hard as he can, too."

From that point forward, the doctor's words went completely over Archie's head. He felt such an overwhelming and shocking sense of relief flow through him at the glimmer of hope the doctor provided, but he didn't allow himself to completely believe that his dad was really going to be okay. _No, he needed to see him with his own eyes before he would even start to believe that…_

* * *

Author's note: Well, at least we now know that Fred is out of surgery, but will he really be okay? Only time will tell, I guess.

Archie is still on the verge of a complete and total breakdown, but he's stronger than he looks, I think. Especially when he's surrounded by his friends.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little addition to my story. I would really, truly love to hear your thoughts. What do you love? What do you hate? Anything you might want to see in this story?

Thank you all so much for reading. I really do appreciate you all.


	5. Caught Up In The Middle Of It All

Undone

Chapter 5

* * *

Archie was finally able to see his dad nearly two hours later. When a nurse finally called for Fred's family, Archie jumped to his feet and looked wildly at his mother. Mary nervously took his hand and they both followed the nurse out of the room.

On the way into the unit, the nurse was explaining the rules of the ICU and preparing both Mary and Archie for what they were about to see. But, nothing could have prepared Archie for the sight of his father. Fred's room was filled with a variety of equipment. Multiple IV pumps lined the right side of the small room and the ventilator equipment was on the other side. Somewhere in the middle was a hospital bed and somewhere within that bed was Fred.

Archie was surprised to see how small the man looked lying in the hospital bed. He had never thought of his dad as a small man. Of course, Fred was of average height and weight, but to Archie he had always been a bit larger than life. But now, he just looked insignificant…..like he could just disappear into the bed at any moment without a single trace of the great man that he really was.

Archie felt his legs shaking as he made his way over to the bed. His palms were sweaty, his heart was hammering violently in his chest, and his mouth was so dry that it hurt to breathe. He could feel his mother's presence directly behind him, bolstering his strength enough to propel him forward even more.

Once he reached the bed, Archie stared down at the sight before him. Fred was covered by a blanket, but Archie could see the edges of the bandage that was covering his abdomen. There were tubes and lines everywhere, a chaotic mess of things that were keeping his dad alive. Archie tried to listen to the nurse as she explained what all of the tubes and lines were actually for. There were two tubes in his dad's mouth…. a larger tube going down his throat and into his lungs that allowed the ventilator to breathe for him and a smaller tube that went into his stomach, draining bile and whatever else from his stomach. There was a bulky thing coming out of his dad's neck which Archie was surprised to hear was an IV line with multiple ports. Each port had a line hooked up to it that lead to one of the various IV bags of medication on the poles behind him.

His mind wandered crazily as he looked around the small room, but it always seemed to come full circle back to his dad. He constantly watched for any sign of movement from his dad, but Fred remained motionless in the bed. The only movement Archie noticed was the mechanical rise and fall of his dad's chest as the ventilator delivered each breath. Eventually, he also noticed the small monitor above the bed and suddenly his eyes were riveted to it, watching as each beat of his father's heart translated to a blip on the screen.

Archie felt a small sense of comfort as he watched that screen. No matter what his dad looked like in that bed, his heart was still steadily beating. He was alive. Broken, but alive.

* * *

The next eight days were some of the longest days of Archie's life. If not for his mother, he would have stayed day and night at his dad's bedside, but Mary insisted that he go home at night to rest. Reluctantly, he did, but he was always back at the hospital by six o'clock in the morning. Betty, Veronica, and Jughead had to go back to school, but they returned to the hospital every afternoon, entertaining Archie with stories of the goings on of Riverdale High. Archie took very little interest in their stories, but he appreciated the fact that his friends were trying to take his mind off of the reality he was facing.

That reality was the fact that his dad wasn't waking up. After several days, the doctor's tried to bring Fred out of the medication induced coma he had been in, but Fred still hadn't shown any signs of waking up on his own. The doctors reassured Archie and Mary that sometimes it just took time, but with each passing day, a little of Archie's soul died.

By the end of day eight, Archie was devastated. He had just returned from a short trip to the cafeteria, carrying a cup of coffee for his mom and upon entering the room, he heard his mom talking to one of the doctors, whose words stopped him in his tracks.

"….time to start thinking about organ donation. Is that something you might be interested in?"

Before Mary could speak, Archie strode into the room. "Wait. What?! What the hell are you talking about?"

"Archie," Mary started, but he wouldn't let her finish.

"No, Mom! We're not talking about that!"

"Archie, please," she pleaded. "We just need to hear what our options are, sweetie."

"We're not giving up on him, Mom. The only option we have is to keep going. We can't give up!"

"Maybe this isn't a good time, Mrs. Andrews," the doctor stated patiently. "We can talk about this later. I think the two of you should get some rest."

"We're not talking about this again!" Archie yelled. "Never again!"

Once the doctor was out of the room, Archie rounded on his mother. "How could you? How could you even think about giving up on him, Mom? He would never give up on us."

"Archie, I'm not giving up on him. I'm not, I promise. But, it doesn't hurt to know all of the options, does it?"

"It does, Mom. I can't even think about any of that. He's going to come out of this. I know he is. He has to."

Mary stepped forward and pulled her son into a hug. "He will, Archie," she stated resolutely. "He'll come back to us."

* * *

Veronica didn't really know what to do for Archie. She could see him slowly falling apart right in front of her, but had no idea how to help him. Of course, she had been with him every possible second she could, but it just didn't seem like enough. _She_ didn't seem like enough. He deserved better…. someone stronger, someone wiser. _Someone like Betty._

She would never admit it to a single soul, but there had always been a part of her that was intimidated by Betty Cooper. If she were being truly honest with herself, Betty was better suited for Archie than she was. Betty had it all together. She always seemed to know exactly what to say to comfort Archie when he was upset, leaving Veronica to feel completely inadequate. And no matter how hard she tried to forget them, Kevin Keller's words continually echoed in her head. _"Betty and Archie are end game. Betty and Archie are end game. Betty and Archie are end game."_

But, Archie was with _her_. And she didn't think for a single second that he was playing her. She really felt that Archie liked her, that he wasn't faking his feelings for her or using her as a replacement for Betty. Or Valerie. Or Miss Grundy. And she would do anything to make sure he stayed with her. He was _her_ end game.

Just as she was getting ready to call him, her phone rang. Thinking it was Archie, she eagerly answered it, only to be a little disappointed to see that it was her mom.

"Hi, mom."

"Ronnie, where are you?"

"I'm on my way to the hospital to see Archie," Veronica answered.

"You need to come home, Ronnie. Right now."

"Why? Mom, what's going on?"

"Your father's coming home. Tonight. He'll be here in just a few hours."

"He's coming home tonight?" Veronica couldn't believe what she was hearing. And she really didn't know if she was ready to have him back. Life was always so much more complicated when he was around and she already had way too many complications in her life. The last thing she needed was a Hiram Lodge-sized complication.

"Okay, Mom. I'm almost at the hospital, so I'm going to stop in and check on Archie first, okay? Then I'll be home."

"Be home within the hour, Veronica. Your father won't be happy if you're not here when he gets home."

"I'll be there."

* * *

Archie looked at the clock on the wall for the tenth time in as many minutes. Betty and Jughead had both texted him to tell him that they wouldn't be by the hospital until later that evening. Veronica, who was usually already at the hospital by that time, hadn't arrived yet. Pulling out his phone, Archie sent a quick text.

 _Where r u?_

A few seconds later, his phone pinged with an incoming text.

 _Right behind u._

Archie turned around in his chair to find Veronica standing in the doorway. Pulling himself to his feet, he stepped towards her, meeting her halfway across the room.

"Hey," he said jauntily, trying to hide the exhaustion he was feeling.

"Hey, Archiekins. I've missed you today."

"I've missed you, too, Ronnie. More than you know."

Veronica grabbed Archie's hand and stepped over to the hospital bed. "Has there been any change?" she asked hopefully.

She could tell by the way Archie's face initially fell that the answer was no.

"Not really," Archie answered. "The doctor said he might do another CT scan of his head tomorrow. And one of the nurses thought she saw his finger move. The doctor said it was probably just a muscle twitch or a reflex, but I don't think so. He's starting to wake up, Ronnie."

Veronica really didn't know how to respond to that, so she just squeezed his hand. "Are you hungry? Have you eaten yet?"

"I ate earlier," Archie answered. "I'm not really hungry. Are you?"

"I'm fine. I have to go soon anyway, Archie."

"Is everything okay?" Archie asked.

"I really don't know, Archie. My mom just told me that my dad is coming home tonight."

"That's great, Veronica!" Archie exclaimed. "Isn't it?"

"I don't know. Things are always so complicated when he's home. And I can't help but think it's going to be even worse now that home is Riverdale. He has history here."

"I think it's great, Veronica. And I'd give anything to have my dad come home."

"I know, Archie, but this is different. My dad and your dad are two totally different people."

"He loves you, Ronnie," Archie tried to convince her.

"I know he does, but he won't let that get in the way of getting what he wants. He always gets what he wants."

"Well, maybe he's changed. Maybe being incarcerated was a wake-up call for him and this will be a chance to start over."

"Maybe," Veronica answered, but Archie could tell she didn't believe it.

"It'll be okay," he said as he pulled her into a hug. "And I'll be here for you, Ronnie, okay? Your broad shoulder to cry on if you need it, remember?"

"My soul mate," she answered, as she pulled him closer and gently kissed him.

* * *

Author's note: This chapter is a little shorter, but I really wanted to get another chapter out for you all before I go back to work. And I'm sorry there still isn't much of an answer on Fred's fate. It's coming, I promise.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you so much for reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts.


	6. I Got You

Undone

Chapter 6

* * *

Three days later, Archie and his mom were involved in yet another argument. Although, Fred had shown a few signs of improvement over the course of the last few days, Archie was still determined to stay at his bedside with only a few short breaks here and there. Mary, on the other hand, thought that it was time for Archie to go back to school and to get back into a somewhat normal routine.

"Archie, you've already missed so much school. You're almost to the point where you won't be able to make up all the work you've missed."

"I don't care, Mom," Archie stated firmly. "I need to be here."

"No, you don't, sweetie. Dad is slowly getting better and you sitting in this hospital room all day and night isn't healthy. You haven't been outside of these hospital walls for almost two weeks."

"I'm fine."

"This isn't up for discussion, Archie. Starting tomorrow, you're going back to school. And starting tonight, you're going home and we're going to eat something besides hospital food."

"No, I'm not," Archie replied matter-of-factly.

"Archibald Andrews! This really isn't up for discussion."

Before Archie could offer up any more protest, his dad's heart monitor started beeping loudly. Archie and Mary both looked up frantically to see Fred's heart rate increasing at an alarming rate. Before they could say or do anything, a nurse entered the room to check on Fred.

"What's happening?" Archie asked frantically as he looked on.

The nurse pushed a button on the monitor that silenced the loud beeping and quickly pushed another button that would automatically check Fred's blood pressure. After checking a few other things, she finally turned back to Archie and Mary.

"Well, his blood pressure and heart rate are both up a little bit and he's breathing a little faster than normal. He could be experiencing a little bit of pain or it could be that he's starting to wake up more." Stepping back over to the bed, the nurse checked his pupils with a penlight and spoke directly to Fred. "Mr. Andrews, can you hear me? Can you squeeze my hand?"

Archie stepped quickly over to his dad's other side and grabbed his hand. "Dad! Dad, can you squeeze my hand?"

After what seemed an eternity to Archie, he felt the tiniest bit of pressure across his fingers. "He did it," Archie yelled loudly, his voice squeaking in excitement. "He squeezed my hand! Dad, I'm right here! You're okay!"

Mary stepped up next to her son and pulled him into a hug. She wasn't surprised when she felt Archie's body sag in both exhaustion and relief. She knew that he was almost to the point of complete exhaustion, both mentally and physically, and it was time to start insisting that he take better care of himself.

Archie quickly straightened himself back up and was once again leaning over Fred's bed. "Dad, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?"

"Archie, don't expect too much all at once, okay?" the nurse said gently. "Give him time to wake up on his own."

"Okay," Archie agreed immediately. "But, this is a good sign, right? He's going to wake up? Everything is going to be okay?"

"It's definitely a good sign," she agreed. "I'll update Dr. Casey the next time I talk to him. In the meantime, I'm going to give your dad a little bit of pain medication to make him more comfortable."

Archie and Mary watched as the nurse medicated Fred and then repositioned him in the bed. After the pain medication was given, they watched as his heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure returned to normal. After almost an hour of watching Fred's every breath and listening to every blip on the heart monitor sound out each heartbeat, Mary turned to see that Archie had fallen asleep in his chair, his hand still grasping one of Fred's.

"Archie….sweetie, wake up," she called out gently. Archie didn't stir at all. "Archie," she called out a little louder. When he still didn't budge, she stood up to gently nudge him. As she stood up, her purse dropped to the floor with a loud thud. To her surprise, Archie jolted awake, jumping out of his chair with a yelp. By the way he was looking around wildly, Mary could tell that he wasn't quite awake yet and that most likely, the loud thud of her purse dropping to the floor had sounded quite like a gunshot to him. Quickly stepping over to him, she gently grabbed his arm.

"Archie, it's okay," she started.

"Dad!" Archie yelled as he frantically looked around the room.

"He's right there, sweetie," she said as she motioned to the bed. "He's okay."

Archie's eyes finally landed on the shape of his dad's body in the hospital bed and Mary immediately noticed the resigned look on his face as everything came rushing back to him.

"He's okay, Archie," she repeated.

"No, he's not, Mom. He's not okay. Nothing is."

* * *

After arguing with his mom again about going home (and dreadfully losing that argument), Archie reluctantly left the hospital. They had at least worked out a plan so that one of them would be with Fred at all times, much to Archie's relief. The thought of his dad waking up alone was terrifying, to say the least, and Archie was determined that that wouldn't happen.

With his mom sitting at his dad's side, Archie made his way back home. On his way, he texted Veronica to let her know that he had left the hospital and within minutes, they had hatched a plan to meet up at Archie's house within the hour. Once Archie arrived at home, he went straight upstairs to take a shower. For the first time since his dad was shot, Archie was able to take a shower and actually enjoy it. Although, he really wished that he was still at the hospital with his dad, he had to admit that it felt good to be home. After getting out of the shower, he went to his room and fell onto his bed. While he laid there, he couldn't stop his mind from reliving _that_ day. Now that he wasn't so focused on whether or not his dad was going to survive, he was finally able to really think about what had happened. For the first time, he wondered if Sheriff Keller had any ideas on who the man was. _Had he caught him? Did he have any leads at all?_

Without hesitation, he grabbed his phone and made a call.

"Archie? Is everything okay? How's your dad doing?"

"Better," Archie answered tersely. "Listen, Kevin….I was wondering if you know anything about what's been going on. Does your dad have any leads on who shot my dad?"

There was a fairly long silence, making Archie think for a second that the call had disconnected, before Kevin answered. "Archie, didn't your mom tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Archie asked. "Did they catch the guy?"

"No, they didn't catch him, but my dad isn't working the case anymore."

"What?! What do you mean? He can't stop until he catches the man, Kevin!"

"He didn't stop, Archie. The FBI took over the case a few days ago. My dad told your mom all about it."

"Why would the FBI get involved? That doesn't make any sense."

"I don't know if I should tell you, Archie. It could get my dad into trouble."

"Kevin, you have to tell me! I have to know."

After another long silence, Kevin continued. "All I know is that this guy's MO matched something that the FBI has been working on. It's something much bigger than just a random robbery. That's all I know, Archie."

After saying a quick goodbye, Archie ended the call. He couldn't believe that his mom didn't tell him that the FBI had taken over the case. Seconds later, he found himself dialing his mom's number, anger coursing through him as he waited for her to answer.

"Archie, is everything okay?" she asked right away.

"How's Dad?" Archie asked.

"He's fine, Archie. The nurses just came in and turned him again, so he's resting right now."

"Why didn't you tell me, Mom?" Archie asked angrily.

"Tell you what?" Mary asked in confusion. "Archie, what's wrong?"

"Why didn't you tell me that the FBI took over the case? Kevin said his dad told you that several days ago. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Archie, I didn't think it mattered," Mary admitted. "And I didn't want to worry you more than necessary."

"You didn't think it mattered?! You didn't think it mattered that this wasn't just some random robbery gone wrong?" Archie yelled.

"Sweetie, we need to focus on Dad right now. Sheriff Keller and the FBI will focus on the rest."

"You should have told me, Mom," Archie said. He ended the call before allowing his mom to reply and threw his phone down to the floor.

"Archie? Are you okay?"

Archie jerked his head up at the sound of Veronica's voice to find her standing in the doorway to his room.

"I knocked on the front door, but you didn't answer. The door wasn't locked, so I let myself in. You should really learn to lock the front door, Archie. At least, until they catch the man who…" Veronica left the rest unsaid, but Archie obviously knew what she was going to say.

 _Until they catch the man who shot your dad….._

"Ronnie!" Archie jumped off of the bed and crossed the room in two large steps. Pulling her into his arms, he hugged her tightly. "I'm glad you're here," he said quietly.

"What's going on, Archie?" she asked. "I could hear you yelling when I opened the door. Is everything okay?"

"Sorry, I was just, um….talking to my mom."

"Arguing is the word you were looking for, I think," Veronica said.

"We were just discussing something, Veronica. It's no big deal."

Veronica decided to just let it go before Archie became even more upset. "Well, then, what do you want to do, Archiekins? Watch a movie? Go for a walk? Go to Pop's?"

Archie flinched at Veronica's words. "Oh, my God, Archie…I'm so sorry!" she cried.

"It's okay, Ronnie."

"No, it's not! I was trying to get your mind off of everything, but instead I just made you remember the place where it all started."

Archie pulled Veronica over to his bed and sat down, pulling her onto his lap. "It's okay," he said again. "I appreciate you trying to distract me, at least."

"Maybe I can distract you in a different way," Veronica answered softly, right before pulling Archie in for a kiss. Archie didn't fight her in the least and half a second later, his mind was completely focused on the way her lips felt against his.

* * *

Author's note: Well, if you're all still interested, I thought I'd post another chapter. I know it's a bit shorter than the usual, but I just recently had surgery on my arm and I'm taking things a bit slower. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading.


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